Church Skits & Plays
An Ascension Sunday skitWhy Stand Ye Gazing Up?4 actors · 4 min

Easter · 4 actors · 4 minutes · Teens and adults, plus extras of any age

Why Stand Ye Gazing Up?

A few moments after the ascension, two disciples stare at the sky and refuse to look down, while the two men in white standing right beside them wait patiently to be noticed. A short, funny Ascension Sunday skit with no rehearsal needed and room for as many extras as you like.

$8USD, tax included
  • Instant PDF download, yours to keep
  • Performance rights for your whole church
  • 30-day refund if it doesn’t fit your church
Running time4 minutes
Cast4 roles · Teens and adults, plus extras of any age
PrepRead from script, with no rehearsal needed; a five-minute walk-through helps, mostly for the “Ow.” The men in white have one line each, read from a card or learned.
Best forAscension Sunday, Missions Sunday, a youth group or children’s program in the weeks after Easter
ScriptureActs 1:4–12; Luke 24:50–53 (KJV)
ThemeJesus was taken up into heaven, and He is coming back: “this same Jesus… shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). That promise sent the disciples down the hill to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

Jesus has just been taken up into heaven, and Andrew and Philip are not looking away, not for a second. Philip’s neck hurts, Andrew is worried He’ll come back while they’re looking at their sandals, and they are seriously considering lying down so they can watch all day. Meanwhile two men in white stand right beside them, one of them quietly clearing his throat, waiting to be noticed.

Philip remembers that Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem, and Andrew points out that Jerusalem is right there. When the men in white finally speak, the words are Acts 1:11, and the promise in them is what gets the disciples moving at last.

About four minutes, with two disciples and two men in white (teens or adults) and as many extra disciples of any age as you like. Nobody memorizes: the disciples read from pages held high, which is how they need to stand anyway. The staging notes cover the entrance, the big laugh when they finally look down, and why the ascension itself is never shown.

Read the first page

(ANDREW, PHILIP and the extra disciples walk in slowly, heads tilted back, eyes fixed on something rising high above the congregation. They stop at center and stay that way. ANDREW and PHILIP hold their scripts up high, above the forehead, and read them looking up. The TWO MEN IN WHITE walk in quietly behind them and stand close by, hands folded. Nobody notices them.)

ANDREW: (still looking up) Any minute now.

PHILIP: Any minute.

(Pause. Nobody moves.)

ANDREW: Can you still see Him?

PHILIP: I see the cloud.

ANDREW: Is it the same cloud?

PHILIP: (squinting) I think it moved.

ANDREW: Then He's moving.

(One of the extra disciples waves at the sky. Another one pulls the arm down.)

PHILIP: We just asked Him when. "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

ANDREW: And He said, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons."

PHILIP: So we don't know.

ANDREW: We don't know. (beat) But any minute now.

PHILIP: How long do we wait?

ANDREW: Until He comes back.

PHILIP: And if that's a while?

ANDREW: Then we wait a while.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • Andrew, a disciple determined not to miss anything; hasn’t blinked in a while
  • Philip, a disciple, practical; his neck hurts
  • First Man in White, one of the “two men… in white apparel,” waiting patiently to be noticed
  • Second Man in White, the other one; no halos, no wings, and one line to learn if he can
  • Extra Disciples, optional: any number, any age, no lines; they look up too

Props

  • Two copies of the script for Andrew and Philip
  • A small card with one line for each man in white
  • White robes or plain white shirts for the men in white
  • Optional: simple robes or tunics for the disciples

What you get

  • The full script with stage directions
  • Cast list, props list and simple staging notes
  • Four discussion questions for a small group, youth group or Sunday school class
  • Performance rights for your church: perform it as often as you like and print copies for your cast

Performance rights

One purchase covers one church or ministry. Perform it as many times as you like, make copies for everyone in the cast and crew, adapt the lines and include it in your livestream. Please don’t resell the script or share the file publicly. Read the full license.

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Questions

Can I change the names or lines?

Yes. Change names and genders, trim lines for time or adapt a joke for your church. The script is yours to fit to your people.

Can we record and stream the performance?

Yes. You can include it in your livestream and post the recording on your church’s own channels.

How do I get the file after I buy?

Right after checkout you get a download link on the confirmation page and by email. It works for up to 20 downloads, and each copy is marked with your order so it stays licensed to your church.

Who is the seller on my receipt?

Payments are processed by Link, Stripe’s checkout, which acts as the reseller. Your card statement shows LINK.COM* CHURCHSKITS. Questions about the script itself come to us at hello@churchskits.org.

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